| Laxmi Mall Singhvi | |
|---|---|
| Member of Lok Sabha | |
| In office 1962–1967 |
|
| Constituency | Jodhpur |
| Member of Rajya Sabha | |
| In office 1998-2004 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 9, 1931 Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India |
| Died | October 6, 2007 (aged 75) New Delhi, India. |
| Occupation | jurist, writer, diplomat |
| Religion | Jainism |
L. M. Singhvi लक्ष्मीमल सिंघवी (November 9, 1931 – October 6, 2007) was a, Indian jurist, parliamentarian, constitutional expert, scholar, distinguished diplomat. He was the longest-serving High Commissioner for India in the United Kingdom (1991–97) [1]
He was conferred Padma Bhushan in 1998.
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He was born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.
Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India, Singhvi was a member of the Third Lok Sabha from 1962-67 from Jodhpur as an Independent and Advocate General of State of Rajasthan from 1972-77. He was, after VK Krishna Menon, the longest-serving High Commissioner for India in the United Kingdom from 1991-97. He was elected to Rajya Sabha (1998–2004) as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),.[2] and was Chairman of High Level Committee on Indian Diaspora. He wrote many books such as A Tale of three cities, Bharat or Hamara Samay, Jain Temple and a few in Hindi as well.
A linguist and a prolific author, Singhvi was also a well acknowledged scholar of Jain history and culture, remained president of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. He spearheaded the Indian delegation to the United Nations conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993, was a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague,[3] and gave the 1993 Rede Lecture at the University of Cambridge on 'A Tale of Three Cities'. He had conceptualised the idea of holding ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Divas’ to promote interaction with non-resident Indians.[4] His contribution to the country has come to light in the context of the movement for the introduction of the Lokpal bill. It was him who had mooted the idea of the Lokpal bill way back in the 1960s based on his study on the Ombudsman's role in the Scandinavian countries. It is said that he, at the behest of Nehru coined the term Lokpal.
He died on October 6, 2007, following a brief illness, in New Delhi, and is survived by his wife and two children.
Dr. Singhvi was married to Hindi author, Shrimati Kamla Baid. His son is Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Senior Advocate, Former Addl. Solicitor General of India, and later a politician from Indian National Congress, and daughter Abhilasha Singhvi, a qualified lawyer, is engaged in humanitarian service as Managing Trustee of Manav Seva Sannidhi. His grandchildren are Anubhav Singhvi and Avishkar Singhvi, and Astha and Nishtha Lalbhai.
In 1993, Dr Singhvi was awarded the Padma Bhushan by Govt. of India, and an honorary degree of LLD by the University of Buckingham.[5]
The Supreme Court of India held the 'First Dr. L.M. Singhvi memorial lecture on ‘Law, Technology and Society: Its dynamics’ on January 17, 2009, delivered by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Former President of India.[6]
Using a bequest by the Trustees of the British Indian Golden Jubilee Banquet Fund, "Dr L M Singhvi Visiting Fellowship" is given out by University of Wales and 'Centre of South Asian Studies', University of Cambridge, for visiting student and scholars of Indian nationality.[7][8]
The School of Constitutional Law has been named after Dr. L.M Singhvi at the National Law University